Raef: Someone To Talk With
Raef stared out across the darkened room, watching shadows play across the walls when the moonlight danced through the portholes. He should have been asleep just as Griffin was, but his thoughts ran a mile a minute. It had been a long day. Goro had interrupted him in the woods, throwing insults towards the necklace that always hung around his neck. The insults then led to a punch that still made Raef's knuckles throb. He should have controlled himself better. Goro was hardly more than a teenager and how could the half-elf have known the subject still stung? How could he have known? He had been surprised by the anger and hurt that the comment had caused. He should have been over it…he should have…. Raef ran a hand over his face, taking in a shuddering breath. There were many things he should have done and should have felt. He was far too old for this petty shit. He had apologized to Goro for punching him when the half-elf had taken him up on the offer to get something to drink or to eat. It hadn’t been a lively affair, but Raef had been fine with that. They played a game or two of cards, engaging in minimal conversation, and that was just fine. Except it gave Raef time to think. Time to think about Az, about Griffin, about the guild, about himself. …Az… He still remembered the screams of his husband as the fire raged on, the heat and flames keeping him away. He could remember the scent of burning wood, metal, and a more bitter scent…a musky scent that made his stomach twist even now. The memory made his chest hurt just as Goro’s words had made it hurt… …but was it only the words? Was it just that comment? Or…or…was it that he had kept it all locked away? No one else but Goro knew and that damn kid had provoked it out of him. Raef’s jaw tightened until the anger faded away. He could blame the half-elf easily for snapping, he could lay every bit of blame on him, but that wasn’t fair. No…he needed to lay some of the blame on himself. There were many people he could have talked to; there were many people he could have sat down with and spilled the secret to. Yet he found himself never doing that. They were all bound together in the hunt for Diva and it never seemed fair to burden them with this information. He would help them with Diva, help them find Ripley, help them kill the beast...he would do anything they needed. This one thing, this one memory, he would keep to himself except for Goro…except for that little half-elf that wrung the words out of him in anger and made him realize he needed to tell someone. That he needed someone to talk to, someone to talk to about everything that had happened in the last five years of his life… Raef glanced down at the sleeping half-orc beside him, worrying his lower lip. He hesitated a moment before reaching out to gently shake Griffin’s shoulder. He waited until the dark eyes opened sleepily to say, “Griffin…I need to talk with you.” …please don’t hate me… Category:Vignettes